Fish gutting and cleaning machine



I. KELUNGTON.- .FISH GUTTING AND CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICIITIQII FILED PR-Z, I922.' 430,816. Patented Oct. 3, i922.

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@n a. MN @wkn n um n www I. KELLNGTON( FISH GUTTING AND CLEAMNG MACHINE.

" v 'APPLlcAroM Elu-:D mm1. 1.922.- 1,430,81 6., Patented 00t- 3, 1922,

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I. KELLINGTON.

FISH GUTTING AND CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2. 1922.

' Patented Oct. 39 w22,

` 3 sHEETs-sHEE1 3.

llatented Unt.. it, lgfalg GUTTING. AND CLEANJG IVIACITE.

pplicaton led April 2'?, 1922.

To all 10720772, it may co7zcc7'l7t:

it known that l, @loi-LN lnLLrNe'reiv, citizen ot the Dominion of Canada, residing` at Vancouver. in the Province ot British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new and useful llmprovements in Fish Gut ting` and Cleaning lllachines, el? which the :following` is a specilication.

This invention relates to a machine :tor splitting, putting, scraping and cleaning lish in preparation ot the same for canning. ln this machine the fish? alt r havingl their heads', tails and hns cut ed, are deposited head end iirst, and bellies up on an endless conveyor chain et particular construction and on it pass successively through iour distinct operations.

ln the first operation the fish are split along the belly :trom within the visceral cavity with a stationary knife supported in a particular manner to attain the desired result.

ln the next stage, the split sh are passed under tivo pair of revolving' gutting Wheels, counterl alanced to rest vvith the required pressure on the lish, hy which Wheels the viscera are removed.

rilhc chain then carries the 'fish under two revolving Wheels that scrape the backbone throughout the visceral cavity.

rthereafter the fish pass under rapidly revolving hrush by Which the inside et the lish is finally cleaned.

Buring all these operations Water is plent i 'ulliY supplied.

Thotinvcntion is l'ully described in the Ytollen/ingl specification, reference heine; inside to the drawings hv which it is acronipanied, in which Y llig. l is a itront elevation ot the machine, portions ol the lish supporting strips heini.; removed adjacent the entering end to reveal parts hetiveen the strips.

Fig. 2 is a plan et the same on the line 2 2 in Fig. l.

liiggs. Z3 and -lshow. in end elevation and plan.,Y a link of the lish carrying' chain to an enlarc'ed scale.

5 is a detail to an enlarged scale ol the lish cutting- Wheels and their related parts.

ltigr. (i is a similar vievv oi, the Wheel hy which the visceral cavity is scraped alongthe hackhone.

'Finn T is an enlarj" g detail et the means hf; nihich each end oi the medial. har and Serial No. 556,586.

the gutting wheels are connected to rise andlall together..

rig. 8 is a snnilarvieiv of the connection between the mould har and its scraping Wheel.

Fig, 9 is a tace View of either of the toregoing details, a portion heiney removed to shov.7 the provision for endivise movement ot the connection in the guide trame.

Fig. l0 is an elevation ol the back et the machine showing` the means for driving the several mechanisms.

The endless chain by which the lish are carried through the machine and on Which it is suppoiited during the several operations referred to, consists of an ordinary sprocket chain 2 having an upward projection 3 from each link, in the middle of which projection a 'tf-sl'iaged notch 4t is cut. rthe edges et 75 the notch are hevelled slightly outward backward, as shown in Fig. t, so that the angular edges oit the notches may have an effective hold oil the lish to carry it through the several operations.

rthis endless chain 2, 3 is carried round sprocket Wheels 5 and 6 at opposite ends of the machine. One ot these Wheels 5 is a driving` sprocket and the bearing oit the other G is endu adjustable that the chain ma)T he tightened.

rlhe upper length of this chain 2 runs in a channel har i" by which the chain is supported against downward flexure. rlhis bar 7 is supported on cross members 8 between 90 the -trames 9 oi? the machine.

lt the enteringl end oiI the machine the body oi the Vtif-:h is maintained Vwith the longer axis ot its medial section upright. hetvreen tiro parallel sheet metal strips 18, one on each side of the chain. '.llhe leading' ends or these strips are' outwardllv7 and backward-.ly turned and are mounted on pins 19 projecting` :trein stai'idards 16, one on each side of the chain. The apertures in the strips are elongated to permit the tree deze ure et the strips in accommodating` themselves to variation in the Width ot the lish. The other ends et these hars i8 are pinconnected to the ends ot rocking le fers 2O 105 secured en the loiver ends ot vertically disposed rockingsha'tt-s 2l. rthese rocking,` she-.tts 2l are connected to move together h v arms 22 secured to their upper ends an(` pin-connected teg( her at 9,3. The strips 1 ]0 are normally retained at the inner limit ot their movement by a spring 24k connected llO between the 'tree ends ot other rocking, arms 25 secured to the upper ends o' the same rocking' shaft.

The Vknife 12, by which the splitting is eilected, is secured across the angle on an L- shaped member 1l), 11, the point of the knife being secured in any suitable manner to the ,forwardly directed end ot the horizontal component 10, which is split to receive it, and the shank of the blade is passed through a slot in the vertical component 11 and is secured by a set screw 13.

The knite is thus supported with its cuttingedge directed upward and toward the line of approach ot' the lsh at an angle of approximately thirty degrees (30G) from the horizontal.

The knife holdingr L-frame 1l), 11 is carried on parallel links 1li, 15, trom upright standards 1G adjacent the entering end ot the machine, the link 14r being pin-connected to the member 11 ot the imite trame and to the njn'ight 16 and the link 15 pin-connected to the upper end of 11 and to the upper end ot the standards 16 by passingn the end of the link 15 through an enlarged aperture in the standard, and providing a collar 17 on each side secured by a set screw.

A spring is interposed between thD inner cellar 1'? and the standard, the reason tor which will be explained later.

The knife holding` L-trame 10` 11 is supported at the required height above the chain to enter the visceral cavity oit trie lish by a collar 26 on a stem 27 secured to and projecting upward trom the trame 9 oit the machine to engage the underside oit the link 14 through which it passes and retains a spring,` 28 between it and a nut threaded on the end of the stem.

Thus, as a fish in the notches 4l; et the chain 2, 3 passes in the direction ot the arrow between the strips 18, those strips yield outward to accommodate the width ot the fish and the leadingend ot the knife passes into the visceral cavity. where the head has been removed, and while the ish is held down on the chain by the lower meniber lll ot the l -lirame the skin of the belly is stretched upward and rides the edge ot the knife 12 and is thereby cut 'from within outward, while in the stretched position eizac "ly in the medial line.

rlhis manner of splitting the fish with a knife lixed in relation to the lish and by stretching' the sides of the visceral cavity against the resistance of the back-bone constitutes an important 'feature ot the invention.

On referring to Fig. 1 where this knife frame is clearly shown, it, will be noted that the 'forwardly directed end of the horizontal member 10 is elevated above the end where it joins the vertical member 11. The object ot this is to ensure that the point et the kni lie loes not catch on the end ot the backbone where the head has been removed, and yet it is required that the member 10 bear tightly against and the knit'e cut aga-inst the resistance ot the backbone. This result is attained by the end movement and spring between the inner collar 17 o'li the link rod 15 and the standard 16 for the resistance of the fish against the kniie will tend to move the :trame in the direction of movement ol the fish, pivoting; about the connection et the link 1e'- to the knife Jframe 11, and that turning` moment will bring' the leadinpr end et 10 and the point oit the knife down into contact with the backbone ot the ish.

The next operation through which the chain carries the iish is that ot remoiing the vise/cra. Through this operation the lish is, as in the preceding operation, laterally supported on the chain by side strips 1S, but both ends olf the strips are carried on rocker arms 20 such as are used tor the latter end only in the splitting` operation. lh'ovision is also made as betere, for normally holding' the strips at the inner limit ot their movement, and for moving' the strips simultaneously outward trom the middle line. The viscera are removed. by two pair ot gutting wheels 38, each pair secured on a shatt 37 to be one on each side ot a medial bar 3() which the lish is lirinly held down in the notches 4lot the conveyor chain.

The shatts 37, on which the guttin;T

whee s are secured, are rotatable, ea yh in theI 'tree end an arm 3G which is radially movable about a sha'ift 4t2 rotatable in the frame ot the machine and driven in a manner to be described later from the iirst motion shat't of the machine. lt drives the shatt 3T by an endless chain Ll() over sprocket wheels 38 secured on the shafts e2 and 3T.

lt is necessary, in order to accommodate variation in the depth oit the fish, that the ends ot the medial bar 30 should be able to rise and tall independent ot one another. lt is also necessary that the bar Il() and gutting wheels 3S should be connected to i'ise and 'tall together, that the wheels, which run in Contact with the iiesh. which varies in softness, may be sustained by the bar it() resting` on the backbone. This adaptable, cooperative movement is attained by suspending` each end ot' the medial bar 30 by a rod 31 from an overhead bar 32, the midlength of which is connected to one end ot a counterweight lever l-lwhich is pivoted at 45 to an overhead supporting' trame 16, and by connectinp; the `tree end of the radial arm 36 which carries the gutting wheels, by a rod 43 to the same bar. The medial bar BO and the gutting wheels adjacent that end of the bar may thus rise and fall together.

Each suspension rod 31 (see Fig'. 7) is connected to the bar 32 by means of a shouldered stud 33 which is connected to the bar CIK ies

lltl

medals that the stud is free to swivel. Through this stud 33 the rod 3l passes and is secured at any desired position ofadjustment by a set screw 34. Adjacent the bar 32 the sides of the stud 3? are flattened to pass through an elongated aperture 4T in a member 35, the ends of which are outwardly turned and apertured to form a guide for the suspension rods 3l.

Similarly, the suspension rod 43 of the gutting wheel arm 36 is connected to the bar by a member Lf8 swivel-mounted in the bar, in which member the rod i8 is adjustably secured by nuts.

rihe underside of the medial bar 30 has portions 49 removed before or behind each gutting wheel, (see Fig. l), which form pockets in the immediate vicinity to receive any material scraped by the outeredges of the wheels, while the fish is passing under them, and as soon as the fish has passed the material drops from the pockets.

The next operation is that of scraping the inside of the iish along the line of the backbone. In this operation the sides of the fish are supported, as in the preceding operation, by sheet metal strips 18. rllhe sides of the split fish are held open by a mould bar 50, (see F ig. 8), and through apertures in the bottom of this mould bar the lower edges of two scraping wheels l project. The bar 50 and the scraping wheel 51 are mounted and connected to move together in the same manner as the medial bar and gutting wheels of the previous operation. lllhe wheels 5l are merely fiat discs, the edges of which are in cross section rounded slightly and have V- shaped ridges across the outer edge only.

The final operation is that of scrubbing, which operation is performed by a circular brush 52 rotatably mounted in the free end of a radial arm 36, as in the previous operations of' gutting and scraping, and counterweighted by direct connection to a counterweight lever.

lletween the lower edge of the horizontal mcniliier l0 of lthe knife frame and the lower edge of the medial bar 30 of the gutting wheel is a tongue pivotally connected to the after end of and normally hanging downward with its point just clear of the chain 2, 8. This tongue 53 is lifted by the body of the fish as it passes under it and bridges the space between the after end of the li-frame of the splitting operation and the leading end of the medial bar of the next operation of gutting. Similarly a tongue 54 is connected to the after end of the medial bar 30 and bridges the space between it and the leading end of the mould bar 50.

The several parts of the .machine may be driven in any convenient manner, but are preferabljrf driven as illustrated in Fig. l0. :is therein shown the driving sprocket 5 of the conveyor chain is secured on the :first motion shaft 55 of the machine which may be driven by a belt from any convenient source of power around the pulley 56 secured on the shaft. Around a sprocket 5T se 'ci 'ed on the end of this shaft 5o passes an ltwill be noticed that the chain 58 pases under the sprocket wheel 59 which drives the brush 52, while it engages the upper sides of those sprockets 59 which operate the gutting and scraping wheels, as the brush is rotated with the movement of the fish on the chain while the gutting and scraping wheels rotate against the movement of the fish. This, however, is not a material point.

A tightener 60 may be applied to the chain 58 between the .sprocket wheels of the scrubbing and scraping operations to hold the chain in effective engagement with the wheels.

A plentiful supply of water is supplied through the pipes (il. judiciously positioned in regard to the several operations.

rihe essential features to which attention is particularly drawn are:

rlhe conveyor chain with the V notched upward projections. The V form provides for variation .in the cross section dimension of the fish and affords a strong resisting hold to draw the fish through the several operations.

The stationary cutting knife and its frame, adapted to penetrate the visceral cavity and split 'the fish from within outward against the resistance of the backbone, upon which the lower member of the knife supporting frame bears.

rlhe side strips supporting tne fish on the chain and adaptable to variations in 'the width to and from the normal minimum limit. rilhe gutting wheels in combination with the medial bar by which the wheels are supported from the backbone of the lish.

And the wheels for scraping the backbone while supported by the larger arc of the mould bar on the esh of the fish.

Having now particularly described my invention, I hereby declare that what I claim as new and desire to be protected in by Letters Patent, is:

l. lin a fish cleaning' machine, means for carrying the fish past the several cleaning operations, said means comprising an endless conveyor chain the links of which have 1 transverse upward projections forming l! notches in which the body of the fish is placed with the back down.

il. in a ish cleaning machine, means for carrying the fish past the several cleaning i.:

CJ i

operations, said means comprising an cndless conveyor chain the links of which have transverse upward projections forming V notches in which the body of the fish is placed with the back down, the sides of the v notches beingr tapered backward away from the medial plane through the angle of the V.

ln a fish cleaning' machine, means for supporting the fish and carrying them past ythe several cleaning operations, said means com arising an endless chain the links of 'hich have transverse upward projections which are if notched to receive the back of the fish, snrocket wheels supporting` the chain at each end and through one of which it is driven, and a channel bar in which the tight side of the chain is supported.

et. iin a fish cleaning, machine, means for splitting; the fish from which the head has been removed, said means including a knife, the point of which is directed into the visceral cavity of the fish and means for effectn ingv relative movement between the fish and the knife whereby said splitting` is effected from within the visceral cavity outward against the resistance of the backbone.

In a fish cleaning operation, means for splitting` the fish from which the head has been removed, said means comprisingl a relatively fixed knife, means for moving,` the sh with the head end forward and the belly up under said relatively fixed knife, the point of which is directed into the visceral cavity of the fish in the conveyor and the cutting edge of which knife is angled up therefrom to above the upper side of the fish, and means for holding the fish down on the conveyor.

6. ln a hsh cleaning,` machine, the combination with a conveyor' chain on which the fish with the head removed is placed back down and with the head end directed forward, means for splitting the fish, said means con'iprising a knife, the cutting,` edge of which is angled upward and forward from a position adjacent the backbone of the fish, and means for holdingv the fish down on the vchain while the belly tightens on the angled edge of the knife, and means permitting the knife to rise and fall in adapting itself to various sizes of fish.

7. ln a fish cleaning machine, the combination with a conveyor chain on which the fish with the head removed is placed back down and with the head end directed forward, means for splitting,` the fish, said means comprising1 a knife, the cutting edge vof which is angled upward and forward from a position adjacent the backbone of the fish, means for holding` the fish down on the chain while the belly tightens on the angled edge of the knife, means permittingl the knife to rise and fall in adaptingitself to various sizes of fish, and means whereby the resistance of cuttingl forces the point of the knife downward on the backbone of the fish.

8. in a fish cleaninp` macl'iine the combina- -tion with a conveyor chain on which the knife, the other end of which knife blade is inserted in a slot in the upright component of the f -frame and adjustably secured thereon, means for supportingY the L-frame on the free ends of two parallel links, the other ends of which links are connected toward. the line approach to pivotally move, means for normallyA supporting,` the knife frame'at a deiinite position in relation to the chain, means resisting upward movement from that stop, means for supporting the sides of the fish adjacent the knifey and means automatically adaptingv the side supports to the width of the fish,

9. fn a fish cleaning machine, the com bination with the conveyor chain on which the fish are arried through the Aseveral operations of cleaning, of means for supporting' the fish on the conveyor chain with the belly up, said means comprising a strip of thin sheet metal on each side of the chain,

means for yieldingly supporting the strips, and means for connecting the strips of the opposite sides that they mutually move from and to the chain in accommodating` variation in the thickness of the fish.

if), ln a fish cleaning machine, the combination with the conveyor chain on which the fish are carried through the several operations of cleaning, of means for laterally supporting the fish with the belly up on the chain, said means comprising a strip of Yhin sheet metal along each side of tlfc chain, the ends of which strip are connected to the free ends of arms secured on vertically disposed rocking sha of which shafts on opposite sides are connected to move together to carry the supporting strips 'to and from the medial line of the chain, and means for normally holding the strips at the inner limit of their movement. y

1f. ln a fish'cleaningg machine, the combination with a chain on which the fish are carried through the several operations of splitting` and cleaning, of means for removing the entrails of the split fish, of two guttinp wheels secured a short distance apart on the same shaft, the outer surfaces of which wheels conform approximately to the inner sides of the visceral cavity and are s, the upper ends radially ridgefh means tor supporting said Wheels from the hacldione ot a tish on the chain that they may rise and tall with variation in the size o'l the irish, and means -for rotatingr said Wheeis.

l2. ln a fish cleaning machine, the combination with a chain on which the tish are carried through the several operations ot splitting and cleaning, ot means for remov ing the entrails from the split `fish, said means comprising` a medial har yieldahly supported pa allel to the path oi the conveyor with its underside at approximately the upper side et the backbone oit' a split fish. oi" a radially ridgei'l gutting' Wheel secured on a shaft to rotate one on each side oit the medial har with their undersidcs adjacent the underside ot the medial har, means for connectiimy the giuttiim` wheels to rise and ijall with the har to which thej,7 are related.

13. in a fish cleaning machine, Ithe comhination with the chain hy which the vfish are carried through the several operations ot splittinggf and cleaning, o'l'- means for scraping' the visceral cavityY along' the bacia hone, said means coniprisino a dise `wheel having' serrations across its outer edge mounted to rotate in the medial plane oit a iish on. the chain, means for supportringgthe scraping wheel from the body oit the irish, said means comprising a mould har generally conforming in cross section to that ot' the visceral cavity of' the lish through an aperture in which mould har the underside ol the Wheel slightl7 projects, and means for connecting` the mould har to the scraping` Wheel that they may rise and tall together in adapting` themselves to the varying` depths of ish.

lll. ln a [ish cleaning` machine, the combination with a means for supporting,- and endivise carrying the lish through the sev eral operations of cleaning' means for gut-- ting the fish, said means comprising a medial har extending lengthwise of the conveying' means, a second parallel har above the medial har, means for adjustahly connecting` each end of the medial bar to the second over har hy a pin-connection that will permit either end ot the connected bars to he lifted independent of the other end, a lever pivotally mounted on an upper frame, said lever carrying; a eounteriveight at one end and connected at the other end to the midleng'th of the over har, a radius arm mounted adjacent each end o'l' the medial har to move ahout the shal't on which it is mounted, a pair oi gattini; 'Wheels secured one on each side ot' the medial bar on a shaft rotatably mounted in the free end of the radius arm, means :t'or adjustahly connecting` the free end ont each radius arm to the over har h v a pin-connection that will connect the gattino; Wheels to the medial har with the underside of each wheel coinciding); with the underside ot the har, and that will permit the har and Wheels to rise and fall together at one end independent ot the other end, and means for rotating the gutting- Wheels.

l5. in a fish cleaning` machine, the combination with a means tor supporting` and endivise carrying the fish through the several operations of cleaning, meansiior sere/ping` the backbone of t Le hsh in the visceral cavity, said means comprising' a mould har the cross section oit which is adapted ai` proX imately to that ot the visceral cavity oit the Afish after splitting, a second har parallel and ahove the mould har, means for adjustahly connecting each end oi said mould har to the corresponding end of the second over har by a pin-connection that Will permit either end oi the connected hars to he lifted independent of the other end, a lever pivotally mounted on the upper part of the same, said lever carrying a counteriveigijht adjacent one end and pivotally connected at the other end to the midlength of the over bar, a radius arm mounted adjacent each end of the mould loar to move about the shaft on which it is mounted, a scraping` Wheel having` a serrated rim rotatably mounted in the `iree end of each radius arm, and means tor adjustably connecting the free end of each radius arm to the over har by a pin-connection that will project the underside of the scraping' Wheel through an aperture in the mould bar and that will permit the scraping Wheel and bar of either end to rise and tall together independent of those or" the other end.

ln testimony whereof l atlii; my signature.

JOHN KELLNGTN. 

